Houthis Report Saudi Airstrikes as Iran Claims Tanker Attacks in Gulf

Yemen's Houthi rebels said on Wednesday that Saudi-backed forces had carried out 32 airstrikes overnight across the provinces of Taiz, Hodeida, Jawf, and Marib. The Houthi military spokesman reported the attacks on social media, but there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage. Saudi authorities did not immediately comment.

The reported strikes follow a major Houthi attack on Saudi oil facilities and utilities that wounded 73 people. The escalation has shattered a four-year truce in Yemen's civil war and raised fears of wider regional instability.

In a separate development, Iranian state media said its forces had struck eight oil tankers and two US vessels in retaliation for US strikes on five Iranian tankers. Iran also claimed to have targeted another ten ships attempting to transit the Strait of Hormuz. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Center confirmed receiving reports of several merchant vessels coming under disabling fire in the northern Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman, though it could not confirm casualties.

The US Central Command said it had destroyed the five Iranian tankers after Tehran fired missiles at a US warship on two consecutive days.

The US Embassy in Yemen said the legitimate government has the right to defend its people and end the Houthis' ability to inflict terror, adding that Saudi Arabia has the right to defend itself. The UN special envoy for Yemen warned that the attacks threaten to widen the conflict and undermine political efforts. Turkey's foreign ministry called on the Houthis to end their aggressive actions.

Separately, an Israeli official said the British Consulate in Jerusalem would close within 30 days, following Britain's decision to ban trade with West Bank settlements. In South Korea, protesters rallied against any potential deployment of military assets to the Strait of Hormuz, as the government weighs US requests for assistance in securing the waterway.